Scallopini is a beautiful and an easy Italian dish to make. I’ve always been a fan of mushroom sauce and I can’t say no to this veal scallopini. Sometimes I just find it hard to believe that such simple ingredients can make such a beautiful dish. We encountered the dish in an Italian restaurant close to where we used to live, my partner ordered the dish and had fallen in love with it since. He’s been wanting to have it again but cooked by me and finally it’s here. 🙂
As a cook I love to see how much people enjoy the food I make and feel/see the satisfaction on their faces. I often feel very satisfied with what I make, and I must say that this dish is one that I’m actually proud to make. The veal was tender and cooked just right and when topped with the sauce, it was a bomb in my mouth. The smell was unique and that creamy mushroom sauce was just soo good. I didn’t use stock like the original recipe or the way other people make it (I just find it healthier not to), I only use salt to flavour the whole dish. There’s no right or wrong though, so if you prefer to use stock feel free to do so.
Note: if veal isn’t available at your local you can use beef, pork or chicken instead. They all go well with the sauce.
I used tarragon in my recipe, but if you don’t like the smell or the taste of it you can use coriander or dill instead. If it’s unavailable in your local, but you still want to have that citrus smell in your sauce you can use grounded mixed herbs or grounded anise as a substitute.
I accidentally placed half of my veal into the pan before the oil heated properly so some of the flour came off and stuck to my stainless steel pan. So when cooking the steak remember to wait until the oil is nice and hot so that your steak cooks nicely and prevents it from the risk of boiling in it’s own excess liquid.
VEAL SCALLOPINI
Prep-Time: 15 mins Serve: 2-4
Cooking Time: 20 mins
Ingredients
4 thin veal steaks
1 cup plain flour
Salt and Pepper
Oil
side
2 carrots, chopped
2 potatoes, chopped
2 Chinese broccoli, cut in half
1/2 red capsicum, sliced
1 cup snow peas, topped and tailed
sauce
1 tsp garam masala
1 small red onion/ shallot, sliced
6 medium button mushroom, thinly sliced
1 tbsp chopped tarragon
1 tbsp chopped chives
2 sage
1/4 cup white wine
3/4 cup cream
2 tbsp butter
2 tbsp oil oil
1/4 cup water/chicken stock
salt to taste
Method
Place potatoes in a pot and fill with water, enough to cover the potatoes. Cook the potatoes for 7-10 minutes or until half cooked (not cooked through) once the potatoes started to cook, add in the chopped carrots and cook for further 3 minutes or until the carrots are just cooked. Drain and set aside.
In that same pot heat butter and oil over medium high heat and then add in the onion and mushrooms. Sauté until most of the mushrooms soften and then add in masala, sage, wine, salt and water. Then sauté for 4 minutes further. Once all of the mushrooms have softened, pour in the cream and cook until it thickens. Stir in the tarragon and chives once the sauce has thickened, give the sauce a quick stir and then remove from the stove.
Heat oil in a pan over medium high heat, throw in the Chinese broccoli and snow peas and then sauté in the oil for 1 minute to soften. Add in the rest of the vegetables including the carrots and potatoes and then sprinkle a small amount of salt and sauté for further 2 minutes. Transfer into a bowl and set aside.
Lightly salt and pepper the veal steak. Dredge in the flour and lightly shake to dust off the excess flour. Heat the oil in the same pan that you used to sauté the vegetables over medium high heat, once it is nice and hot place the veal steak away from you into the pan. Cook each side for 1-2 minutes or until golden. Transfer onto a serving plate, top with the mushroom sauce and serve with sautéed vegetables.
